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October 27
1900s-1970s *1911 - Philadelphia Athletics first baseman and team captain Harry Davis is named manager of Cleveland. *1924 - The Chicago Cubs trade pitcher Vic Aldridge and first basemen George Grantham and Al Niehaus to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 1B Charlie Grimm, shortstop Rabbit Maranville and P Wilbur Cooper. Grantham will hit .300 for six seasons for Pittsburgh, while Grimm will play 11 seasons with Chicago, eventually becoming player-manager. In 1925, Maranville will be named a player-manager as well. Cooper, who has averaged 20 wins a year over the past six seasons, will drop to 12–14 with the Cubs. This past season he picked off seven runners at third base. *1948 - Commissioner Happy Chandler orders free agency for ten Detroit minor leaguers for the club's coverup of their contracts. One of the players who will make the major leagues is Bill Serena, with a six-year career. *1962 - The Detroit Tigers begin a seventeen-game tour of Japan. *1965 - The St. Louis Cardinals trade two of their mainstays, sending first baseman Bill White and shortstop Dick Groat to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Alex Johnson, pitcher Art Mahaffey and catcher Pat Corrales. St. Louis also throw in catcher Bob Uecker. *1972 - The New York Yankees ship outfielder Danny Walton to the Minnesota Twins for catcher Rick Dempsey. Walton spent the 1972 season in the minors, while young Dempsey had cups of coffee with the Twins the past four seasons. 1980s *1980: **In a shocking announcement, Houston Astros owner John McMullen fires president and GM Tal Smith, replacing him with Al Rosen, former GM of the Yankees. Smith will soon be named Major League Executive of the Year. The move prompts a rebellion among the Astros 20 limited owners (who together own over 60 percent of the club), and on November 24 McMullen will give up his sole authority to run the club, accepting a position on the club's newly formed executive committee instead. **Ralph Houk, who managed the Yankees and Tigers for 16 years before retiring in 1978, is named manager of the Boston Red Sox. *1985: **The Kansas City Royals become only the sixth team in major league history to rally from a three-games-to-one deficit to win the World Series. Bret Saberhagen pitches a five-hits 11–0 shutout over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game Seven and is named Series MVP. **Billy Martin is fired by the Yankees for an unprecedented fourth time and is replaced by former Yankees outfielder Lou Piniella, who had been the team's hitting instructor since retiring as a player in 1984. *1986 - At Shea Stadium, the New York Mets won the World Series with an 8–5 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game Seven. The Mets rally from a 3–0 deficit to win behind home runs by Ray Knight and Darryl Strawberry. Knight is named Series MVP. *1989 - The World Series resumed after a 10-day delay because of the San Francisco earthquake. Oakland, behind two s by Dave Henderson, beat the Giants, 13–7, in Game Three. 1990s *1991 - In a Game Seven that rivals any in World Series history, the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins go scoreless through nine innings. Lonnie Smith is decoyed into pausing at second base to keep him from scoring the winner for Atlanta in the eighth. Gene Larkin's single over a drawn-in outfield in the 10th is the difference in the first extra-inning Game Seven in 67 years. Jack Morris, who pitches the 10-inning 1–0 shutout, is named Series MVP. Both Atlanta and Minnesota had finished last in their respective divisions last year. *1992 - The Colorado Rockies hire Don Baylor as the first manager in the history of the franchise. Baylor also becomes the fourth active black manager, joining Felipe Alou, Cito Gaston and Hal McRae. *1996 - After two humbling losses at home, the New York Yankees won their first World Series title since 1978 with a 3–2 victory over the defending champion Atlanta Braves in Game Six. *1998 - President Bill Clinton signed a bill overturning part of baseball's 70-year-old antitrust exemption, putting baseball on a par with other professional sports on labor matters. The new law overrode part of a 1922 United States Supreme Court ruling that exempted baseball from antitrust laws on grounds that it was not interstate commerce. That exemption deprived baseball players of protections enjoyed by other professional athletes and that players' association blamed for contributing to baseball's eight work stoppages since 1972, including the disastrous 232-day strike in 1994-95. *1999 - Roger Clemens pitched the New York Yankees to their second straight World Series sweep, shutting down the Atlanta Braves 4–1 and ending his quest for the one and only prize that eluded him. The Yankees won their record 25th World championship - and third in four years. Game Four marked New York's 12th Series victory a row, matching a team’s mark. Mariano Rivera get his second save and is named Series MVP. Atlanta joins the New York Giants (1910-19) as the only teams to lose four World Series in a decade. 2000s *2000: **New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani thinks it is okay for children to take a day off from school to watch the Yankees' ticker-tape parade. His Honor, believing baseball can be an educational experience, has allowed his own kids, Andrew and Caroline, to miss classes in the past to watch the Bronx Bombers' post-season celebrations. The Mets, this year's runner-ups in the Subway Series, turn down Giuliani's invitation to be part of the parade for the World Champion Yankees down the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan. *2001 - The Arizona Diamondbacks pound the New York Yankees in Game One of the World Series by a score of 9–1 behind Curt Schilling. Schilling hurls seven innings to win his fourth game of the postseason. Craig Counsell and Luis González hits home runs for Arizona as Yankees Mike Mussina takes the loss. *2002 - In the team's 42nd season, the Angels finally win a World Series title by beating the Giants, 4–1, in Game Seven at Anaheim Stadium Edison Field]]. Garret Anderson's three-run double provides enough offense for pitcher John Lackey to become the first rookie to win a seventh game since 1909 when Babe Adams accomplished the feat for the Pirates. Troy Glaus is named Series MVP. *2004: **Under the moon’s reddish tint caused by a lunar eclipse, the Boston Red Sox exorcised 86 year of agonizing losses by winning their first World Series since 1918. In one of the most dominating Fall Classic performances, Boston, who never trailed during the four games, blank the St. Louis Cardinals, 3–0, to complete the sweep. Johnny Damon hit a home run on the fourth pitch of the game, pitcher Derek Lowe made it stand up and Manny Ramírez, who batted .412 (7-for-17) with a home run and four RBI, was named Boston's first World Series MVP. **After a 10-day Overstock.com on-line auction and 240 bids, Barry Bonds' 700th home run ball goes for $804,129. Steve Williams, who came up with the milestone ball in SBC’s left field bleachers on September 17, announced he was quitting his day job as a broker's assistant, but hadn't decided what to do with the windfall. Births *1858 - Joe Mulvey, infielder (d. 1928) *1876 - Patsy Dougherty, outfielder (d. 1940) *[[1878 - Shad Barry, outfielder (d. 1936) *1922 - Ralph Kiner, Hall of Fame outfielder *1922 - Del Rice, All-Star catcher and manager (d. 1983) *1933 - Pumpsie Green, infielder *1945 - Mike Lum, outfielder *1952 - Pete Vuckovich, pitcher *1952 - Bill Travers, All-Star pitcher *1960 - Tom Nieto, catcher *1961 - Bill Swift, pitcher *1963 - Bip Roberts, All-Star infielder *1972 - Brad Radke, All-Star pitcher *1973 - Jason Johnson, pitcher *1974 - Dennis Stark, pitcher *1976 - Simon Pond, outfielder Deaths *1921 - Bill Kuehne, infielder (b. 1858) *1955 - Clark Griffith, Hall of Fame player and manager (b. 1869) *1969 - Charlie Jamieson, outfielder (b. 1893) *1978 - Rube Walberg, pitcher (b. 1896) *2006 - Joe Niekro. pitcher (b. 1944)